Calling all beaders....you whoooooo

Shadowflame

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Lima Beads is having their yearly Easter Egg Hunt. 250 eggs hidden in their website pages. Can you find them all?
 

Filigree

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Orianna2000

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I posted about this in the cosplay thread, but was directed here. I'm making a costume that has some significant beadage. Strands of beads draped around the shoulders, and beaded strands down the front of the skirt. I did some rough calculations and if I go with 8mm crystals, I'll need approximately 600 siam, 600 emerald, and 700 metallic gold. I'd rather use 6mm, but then I need hundreds more. I want round faceted crystals, not bicone, since bicones have sharp edges that tend to scratch my skin up.

My go-to source is Fire Mountain, but it's going to be over $300, even with the tiered discounts. I'm thinking Preciosa crystals, since they're a lot cheaper than Swarovski. A friend suggested that I use acrylic beads, since they're even cheaper, but I've already invested a lot in this costume, going with (mostly) high-quality materials and accessories. I don't want to cheap out and use plastic beads that aren't even going to sparkle.

Anyone know of a place to buy bulk crystals that's less expensive than Fire Mountain? Also, does anyone know how quickly Fire Mountain gets stuff back in stock? The crystals I need are on backorder. I'm on a time constraint, so I really don't know what to do. The costume will be worn the end of August, but I need time to actually do all the beadwork, so I can't wait forever to order. Thoughts?
 

Orianna2000

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Well, there are lots of cheap crystals available from China... glass, but not necessarily high quality. Ebay and Etsy have many listings of this. Is this for Dragoncon?? I'll be at Dragoncon :)
I'd rather stick with the brand I've already got samples of, so I know the colors will match. The cheaper crystals I sampled didn't match at all. I've searched eBay, they only have two listings and both are for small amounts only. I did find a seller on Etsy who does larger orders and she's half the price of Fire Mountain! But she doesn't have enough of the red crystals in stock, and none of the green or gold. I'm planning to message her and see if she can get them.

Yes, it's for DragonCon! I'm desperately hoping I can get this costume done in time. Time is passing too quickly and it's labor intensive with all the sparklies.
 

greendragon

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Come see me! I have my beaded jewelry at the art show all weekend. Back left corner, near Jasmine Becket-Griffiths (big-eyed scary fairies) :)

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I wish you luck! Maybe that Etsy dealer can help :)
 

Orianna2000

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I think we met last year, actually. But if I make it to the art vendor's hall, I'll stop by again!
 

Orianna2000

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Thanks, Filigree. They don't have all the colors I need. :-/

The Etsy seller says the red she has in stock isn't the same as the red I need, even though it's got that as a keyword in the title. And it's only so cheap because it was overstock. But she's going to see if she can order what I need and will let me know the cost.